Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-11-17
CRANBERRY PICRERS.
SCENES IN A BERRY BOG IN BARN.
vS STABLE COUNTY.

sc STABLE COUNTY.
How the "Oxycoccus Macrocarpus' Is
Gathered in the Cape Cod Regions.
Both Sexes and All Ages at Work.
Daily Wages.
The cranberry bog is now dry. The vines,
Won must know, are but a few inches above
ground, and the ground is red with the de-
licious fruit. This bog l now describe may |
be six to ten rods square, more or less Lines
are fastenc TO pegs in the ground, dividing |
the ground into rows or alleys some five or
six feet wide The pickers begin two In each |
of these rows. Down on their marrow bones, |
old Inen and women, young men and maid
ems and children, too-any one that Will
work and stick to il. Such the owners must
have Each person is provided with meas
urea tin vessel holding just six quarts.
With the measure between the knees the
picker claws, and rakes and scoops with his
or her fingers and gathers the berries in.
Some leaves and sticks, and with some
rogues (boys, of course much besides Der
ries go into the measure-the screening pro-
cess later on separating the fruit clean and
pure. But the one that is too careless or dis
honest in his pickings finds, maybe, that the
old truth, "The way of the transgressor is
hard has not died out on the cape mo
more of your pickings here, blast your eyes!
Doncher know cranberries from grass and
sticks and things. Git out!n And so the de
linquent picker hangs back for a spell, to try
again, or maybe srots on to the next bog to
see if he or she may not perhaps do better.
For it must be known that picking" on the
cape is a matter of no little Importance to
these hardy sons and daughters of the soil;
it means bread and butter and clothes and
ribbons and things to these girls and boys
and men and women, who have to push hard
in many ways through the year to make both
ends meet
On they go, the rows all full, two by two
man and his wife in one row, two sisters in
another, two hardy young men in another.
Old Drat-it-all-so called from his constant
use of the word at any annoyance or sur
prise that meets him-has his grandson by
his side, Just learning to pick; in spirit and
heart and strength they are two children to-
gether And here and there, no mistake
about it, a young man and young woman
are by themselves in another row, each of
whom believes that the company of the other
is about the best there can be this side the
heavenly shore You hear but little talk
from them as they creep along upon their
knees. They hear and understand each
other, to be sure, but no one else knows of
their converse
II is hard on the hands, this berry picking.
Some wear finger stalls, but others nothing,
and at night their poor finger ends are red,
sore, aching and seem covered with hang
nails Think of this, We families, as YOU
smack your chops next winter over the lunch
of turkey and lahD that reliShing cranberry
sauce-the berries gathered with the pains
and patience of this same earnest, good
hearted fellow, or this same best girl of his,
on the respondent September day Some of
the pickers can pick two measures to the
others one. A smart housewife will leave
her kitchen and children to the care of the
husband, and, while he minds the dinner Dot.
does the chores and smokes his pipe, she will
"go out a-pickin" and earn Sl.50-yes, So
day. Its real NICE said one to me the
other evening, ito go a-pckin' and grow fat
on it. earnt last fall well on to $40 a-pick-
in cranberries, while Bije, here, stayed at
HOtlt anu VOuk care OF InlngS.'
A new picker cannot earn easily more than
fifty to sixty cents day TO start with, and
after the first days attempt, if he does not
wake up next morning sorer and sitter chan
any army mule after days campaign, why
then he is smart and enduring-that's ali.
The whole work is done on the hands and
knees. An intelligent young man among the
picksrs said to me, Doesn't it remind one of
the southern slaves that used to her ''Well, y
said, ''asa picture photographed you might
call it slavery on the Cape; but then il is not
a cotton field. You are not a negro nor a
slave That overseer that stands behind the
rows to see if you don't monkey your meas
ure carries no whip. He's rather free with
his slang and 'cuss' words, but you can talk
as well as he You can vote next November
as many times as he can. If he abuses your
sister with his slang or too much dictation
you can up and at him with your tongue or
fists if necessary. You are sovereign as
great as he, and, thank God, you are free
American citizenl" "That's sou said the
brawny fellow; and he skipped back with his
emptied measure TO his row, and was fast
filling it again, with all the spirit and will of
man that's bent on success and living.
Each person carrying full measure, 'six
quarts" mo partial measure is counted, to
the blouse" or place of screening and pack
ing, receives a ticket When a picker can
show ten of these first tickets he can ex-
change them for one new ticket of ten times
the value, and so on; and as the time pro
crosses this arrangement is simplifled and
carefully looked after, so that at the end one
ran attrn ny, his 90 r,,i.,rrc tyarty aaSilr
The pickers go to work at very reasona-
BILE hour-from 7:90 to a. m.-many of
them, mothers of families and others, com
ing several miles to the ground after morning
housework is done. At noon all knock of
for their lunch under the trees among the
bushes, or in some convenient house An
hour or less Of rest and chat, sometimes a
little sport, and the afternoon toll begins.
Pick, scratch, scrape, and pick! Time
after time the full measure goes to the
house, until the lengthening shadows come.
The overseer keeps behind, presenting, II
must be confessed, slight suggestion of the
old slave driver of the southern cotton field
or the diamond mine; but, as before said, be
has no whip and it is a sort of free slavery
II you don't like the work and place, Just VI
and 'git7-no man is your master. Only, ii
you choose to pick crauberries, you must
pick them clean and fair. You must fill
your measure and keep out all sticks, rub
bish, etc, so far as possible; and you mus
not skylark it too much with your work
mates.
The last half OF the measureful of the day
say about $50 or As o'clock-is about
the hardest part Of the days job. But
little more scratching, a few more wide
clean sweeps of the weary hands and the las
brfmful measure-it may be your twelfth
or possibly your twentieth, if you are an ex
pert-is done and the head man shouts, "Al
of I" and with the crowd of thirty or forty 9th
ers you hurry to the ''house, take your turl
to empty, receive new ticket or exchang
those you have, hang up your measure an,
think of home Horses are put in, coats an
jerseys put on, dinner baskets seized and tn
crowd scatters after the "Goodbys,n Use
you tomorrow, jim" "Coming to Crowell
bog, Maud, tomorrow" ETC., etc.-Barr
stable County Mass Cor. Chicago Tribun,
New School of Morality.
Mamma, Lii has been telling another FL